Leopold Strauss
Leopold Strauss is a major character who serves as a supporting antagonist in Red Dead Redemption 2. Biography According to himself, Strauss was born on April in 1823 in a poverty of a place in Vienna, Austrian Empire. By the age of fourteen, his brother was already a petty crook beating up even poorer people for some food under the orders of the town's watchmen. Strauss' father sold his own daughter, a nine-year-old girl, away into slavery and rape before belting and bruising her across the face himself in order to provide for the rest of the family, breaking her brother's heart while Strauss almost laughed himself to tears. Due to his "wicked ways", Strauss jumped off the ship he was on with his parents to the United States, landing right into Texas instead of Arizona. Many decades had past while Leopold was living in many countries of southern America where he worked as a bookkeeper, debt collector, amongst other sorts. But while on the run after robbing a general store, Leopold had to flee all the way to Louisiana on all: Foot, horse and even stagecoach. After coming to the unfamiliar Frenchy land, Leopold took a poor, lost, fatherless Gicov Bell as his own son, and both of them later got inducted into Dutch's Gang, where Leo became the group's accountant, along with handling Dutch van der Linde's loan-sharking businesses. Unfortunately for Dutch however, taking in Strauss and Bell was the worst mistake he could have ever made. It was later found out that most of what Strauss said about his background was a mere facade to make him seem "cooler" or "edgier", and it is still unknown today if he ever had a sister or a brother at all according to some of the FBI files. It is also noted that he apparently killed his own grandmother in her sleep when he was thirteen as she "disrespected him". Interactions Soon after Dutch's Gang arrives at Horseshoe Overlook from a snowy mountain camp, Strauss starts up his loan-sharking business, with almost black demonic-like saliva dripping from his mouth; He can't wait to bully someone into taking a loan. He then asks his homeboi, Gicov Bell, to collect money from debtors like Chuck Matthew, Wróbel, and Lilly Waterbury. Lastly, Strauss asks Arthur Morgan to get him the money from one last debtor: Thomas Downes. It was during this confrontation with Downes that Arthur contracted Tuberculosis, which would plague him and make him cough like whole hell until his death. Leopold, along with John Marston is briefly seen drinking in a saloon in Valentine Village until both men are taken hostage by Leviticus Cornwall's army, who want Dutch (who was also in the saloon) dead for robbing their master's train. In the ensuing gunfight, Leopold is shot in the leg and has to be carried to safety by John and then back to Horseshoes'. After the gang arrives at a new camp location of Clemens' Point, Strauss then gives Arthur and later Bell each one more mission of collecting money from debtors. Gicov is tasked with getting all the mula back from Winston Holmes, who lives in a camp located north of Strawberry Town while Arthur is ordered to make Guy Hughes pay his debts. While the results of Bell's mission are unknown, Arthur successfully convinces Guy to return Strauss the money he owes after a couple of punches in the nutsack. However, after giving the money back to Strauss at the camp, Leo greets Morgan with only a couple of scolds and mere insults, assuring him the "debt has long been paid.", leaving Morgan confused as all hell. After the gang moves to Shady Belle, Strauss asks Arthur kindly to collect him the money from Algernon Davidson. Algie tells Arthur he doesn't have the money, leaving Arthur no other choice but to kill him in "self-defence". After getting rid of Algie's stinking body, Morgan loots his house and finds some money in a chest to return to Strauss. Strauss then joins the gang in robbing a wealthy businessman and gambler Desmond Bittler on a Grand Korrigan riverboat. However, the parasite doesn't assist the gang at all during the robbery, more or less only joining it for the fortune he can get out of it. He lastly escapes the ship with Arthur, Javier Escuella, and Josiah Trelawny after getting all the money and jewellery they needed. When Dutch and his gang arrive at Beaver Hollow, Zee Ubermensch gives Bell one more money lender to collect from. The debtor being poor o' John Weathers, a deserter from Fort Mercer. Bell found him west of the gang's campsite, trying to fix a broken wagon, but fails. Weathers begs Gicov to spare him as he can't pay off the debt in money, but Bell and Straw can have some of his jewels instead. Bell takes the jewels, claiming they will save Weathers from a torturous death as would money, and then rides off to give them to Strauss. Nearing the end of Dutch's gang fragile stability and concerning Morgan's doubts about it, Agent Larry Milton reveals to Arthur that the moles who were ratting out Dutch and his bunch to the Pinkertons were actually Strauss and Gicov all along, not Molly O'Shea. Arthur presents this information later at the camp (where Leo is absent) to a stressful Dutch van der Linde, but Gicov denies it and Dutch believes Bell with full will. This was the final straw for Arthur, and a betrayal, as Dutch raised Arthur as his own and he has been loyal to him for decades, whereas Gicov and Strauss had only been with the gang for mere months. A year later, Gicov created his own gang, taking Herr Strauss with him and his old buddies, Cleet and Bad Jo. Throughout the months they committed various crimes which resulted in several vicious murders, rapes and other crimes, such as dismemberment. Gicov even murdered a young girl, a pregnant woman and an infant, something Leopold highly approved of. While the gang was hiding out on Mount Harris, Sadie Adler (also a former member of Dutch's gang) catches wind of Gicov and his gang's evil activities, and rounds up Marston and Charles Smiff to assist her in disbanding it. Death After killing most of Bell's gang members at his hideout, Strauss himself, along with Bad Jo, and two other members, encounter Marston as he makes his way up the mountain. After a brief confrontation and discussion of "the good o' days" in Dutch's gang, John shoots and kills Jo and his allies, before finally killing Leopold after short shootout with the Money Man. Personality and traits Strauss can be noted as a serious, sadistic, mean-spirited, commanding, evil and unemotional monster of a man, but those things are what allows him to be effective in his job as a loan-sharking bookkeeper. As expected, like Gicov Bell, he is anything but devoted to the gang he joined, giving them up as soon as possible to the Pinkertons, hoping the gang would be brutally tortured and slaughtered to pieces. He is best known as a 'parasite' for only joining the gang to suck it out dry completely, then leave it behind to die and rot. Other than that, not much else is known about Leopold's personality, but its safe to say that there probably ins't much more of it. However, despite all of those negative traits, it is known that Leopold indeed actually cares about Bell and his gang (Bell's own gang). *Positive Characteristics: Rejects religion, is good at counting and loaning money, is loyal to Gicov Bell *Negative Characteristics: Betrays almost everyone, rats everyone to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, gives loans to very poor people who can't pay them off, goads Gicov into being a sadistic monster, likes to watch people suffer *Moral: None *Stable: Sometimes *Loyal: Only to one person *Generous: Not that we know of *Extrovert: No *Compassionate: Nope *IQ: 149 *Hobbies: Counting money, manipulating Dutch van der Linde, giving factual information about the gang to Larry Milton, planning stuff with Gicov, taunting Orville Swanson, sending gang members to go after his debtors *Bad Habits: Stabbing people in the back *Phobias: Unknown *Obsessions: Betraying people *Favourite Foods: Potato in tomato sauce Trivia *Strauss speaks in flowery, charismatic eloquence in kind of a similar way as Harlan Fontaine, although without masking his evil and demonic persona, as a villainous tone can still be heard in his words if one emphasises on them correctly. *Despite his occupation or his entire outlook on life being the direct opposite, Herr Strauss identifies as a socialist, like Dutch van der Linde. It is possible he only does so because he loves to hide his immorality under the false guidance of great, progressive morality. *Orville Swanson was one of the most picked on victims of bullying by Strauss and Gicov Bell. *He somewhat resembles Mr. Rogers, but the two of them are NOTHING alike! Looks can be deceiving, folks! Gallery Morgen_und_Strauss.jpg|Leopold explains to Morgan some rather simple stuff. Leopold_und_Morgin.jpg|Arthur standing face to face with the rat. Strauss.jpg|Leopold probably scheming. Strauss_talking.jpg Bell_und_Strauss.jpg|Strauss and Bell enjoying themselves at the camp. Leo_Strauss.jpg|8 points for Herr Strauss. Leopold.png|Strauss showing us his rather uncomfy face. Fat_demonio.jpg|Strauss in his fatter, purest form possible. Denying Swanson Much like how his homeboy, Gicov Bell, bullies Father Swanson around, Strauss refuses to give Orville anymore money. He already owes him a lot. In all honesty, despite Leo's villainous role, this is all clearly Swanson's fault, as was with Gicov. Category:RDR Category:Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Killed in Action Category:AWESOME PEOPLE! Category:Manipulators Category:Liars Category:Bullies Category:Evil Genius Category:Pure Evil Category:Filled with Evil Category:Traitors Category:Austrians Category:Greedy Characters Category:Old Farts Category:Antagonists Category:Demons Category:Aryans Category:Socialists Category:Lawful Evil Category:Corrupt Officials Category:Siblings Category:Good on paper, rotten below it Category:Atheists Category:Well equipped albatross